phobo-, phob-, -phobia, -phobias, -phobe, -phobiac, -phobist, -phobic, -phobism, -phobous
(Greek: fear, extreme fear of; morbid, excessive, irrational fear, or terror of something or someone; however, sometimes this Greek element also means a strong dislike, dread, or hatred for something or someone)
For more details about the various phobias, visit this Phobias Introduction page to see Phobia Variations Defined and Explained.
There are only two forces that unite men: fear and self-interest.
An abnormal fear of children, including infants: Mr. and Mrs. Jones didn't have any kids of their own and were quite tense and anxious when they visited their friend's new baby, and they decided that, since they had pedophobia, they didn't want a youngster of their own!
A morbid dread of becoming bald or of bald people: Suffering from peladophobia, Mr. Jones was aghast and shocked when he saw himself in the mirror and noticed that his hairline was receding rapidly and he was afraid that he would soon have a naked head!
A horror of being personally dirty or objects being filthy: Daniel was overly conscious of taking a shower every day and being very clean and tidy, and his friends joked about him having pelophobia!
Mrs. Hathaway, affected by pelophobia, always had her sports car vacuumed and washed every other day because she never wanted to have any dust or even mud visible on it!
A morbid hatred of being in a state of poverty: Sam worked a lot at different jobs because he always wanted to have enough money for fine furniture and other items in his home, and never to be destitute, and his friends thought he suffered from peniaphobia!
A fear of one's mother-in-law: Jack was most anxious that his wife's mom would intrude in the affairs of their marriage or in their everyday life, like cooking and cleaning, and this irrational distress caused him to have pentheraphobia!
An intense dislike of one's father-in-law: Susan liked her husband's mom, but not his dad, fearing that he would intrude not only in the affairs of their marriage, but also in the upbringing of their children, and, suffering from the tension and stress this caused her, she developed pentherophobia.
An excessive dislike of pigeons: Some people avoid going to parks or town centers because of the contamination that the birds with short legs and heavy bodies can cause with their excrement or droppings.
An abnormal or irrational apprehension of eating or swallowing: After little Tommy gagged on some pieces of meat he was having for lunch, he developed phagophobia because he was afraid of choking and throwing up again and had severe difficulties with taking in nourishment.
A horror of becoming bald: Carol went to see her doctor about her anxiety and concern regarding losing the hair on her head and was diagnosed with phalacrophobia.
An irrational dislike of drugs or medicine: Jane's mother had pharmacophobia because she thought that the medications would do more harm than good for her children!
An irrational horror of ghosts: People in various cultures afflicted with phasmophobia have a fear of spirits being evil, malicious, and even in the form of dead people looking for revenge!
1. An excessive fear of daylight or of sunlight: Human manifestations of phengophobia involve secluding themselves in curtained rooms where the brilliance of the sun cannot enter and only allowing illumination by artificial lambency. Usually the individual can go out at night and move around in greater comfort than during solar time.
2. In biology, intolerance of luminosity: Some creatures have a natural phengophobia, including certain plants and animals, because they cannot exist in bright fulgence.
We mustn't fear daylight just because it almost always illuminates a miserable world.
A person who has an intense dread of kissing: Vony, being a philemaphobe, went to see her doctor because she was fearful of touching someone with her lips causing germs to spread or because of having bad breath, and Dr. Smith consoled her by saying that she had nothing to be afraid of!
An intense dislike of kissing: Some people really hate giving others a light touch with their lips because they might get some bad disease-causing bacteria or virus from the other person, so they refrain from this activity and therefore have developed philemaphobia.
The avoidance of falling in love or of being loved: Ron developed philophobia after being hurt by a close girlfriend when he cherished her and felt such a strong passion for her.
